Multi-Purpose Rocking Toy

ABSTRACT

A dual purpose child seat and toy is disclosed. The toy can be employed in a rocking horse fashion by sitting in a forward facing direction and rocking back and forth. The base of the toy is curved to allow such rocking motion. In addition, the toy is configured so as to allow the child to turn in the opposite direction facing the rear of the toy with a backrest being provided for the child to recline. In such a position, the child can relax, watch television, read books, or the like. In addition, the toy is provided with storage capability and a convenient carrying handle.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to toys and, more particularly,relates to rocking horses and hobby horses.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Rocking horses have long been a toy enjoyed by children. Around theworld children have sat on toy horses and rocked back and forthpretending to be riding a real animal. The activity is fun, relaxing,and to the relief of parents everywhere, both occupying and tiring forthe child.

Many versions of such rocking horses have been created over thecenturies. One very early patented version is found in U.S. Pat. No.23,003 to Woodworth et al Woodworth et al, patented in 1859, discloses adual purpose hobby horse having first and second side walls defining acrib therebetween, wherein the side walls are formed with arcuate bottomedges so as to allow the crib to rock. In addition, a seat is providedat one end of the horse to allow the child to sit and lock. Anotherearly attempt is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,348,785 which disclosesstructure for converting any rocking chair into a rocking horse byclamping a board having a horse head extending therefrom to the aims ofthe chair.

Still other toy horses have attempted to combine both the locking motionof a conventional locking horse with a wheeled motion of a vehicle. U.S.Pat. Nos. 1,371,731; 1,412,723; and 1,478,449 all disclose such toys.

As the times have progressed, increased emphasis has been placed on thecomfort of the child and thus various spring activated or shockabsorbing additions or improvements to the art have been made. Suchspring actuation also provides a more bouncy feel, more representativeof the actual act of riding a horse. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,497,258 and4,093,208 are representative of these types of patents.

While all such patents and other known rocking horses have enjoyed somelevel of success and continue to be enjoyed by children today, furtherimprovements are still being sought. For example, as toys have gottenbigger and bigger over the years, it would be advantageous if a rockinghorse could be combined with another toy or piece of furniture tooptimize the use of space within the child's room or other area of thehouse. In addition, it may be advantageous to simply combine otherfeatures into a conventional rocking horse so as to make its use motedesirable.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a toy is disclosedwhich comprises a curved base, and a simulated animal body extendingupwardly from the curved base. The simulated animal body includes atorso with a forward end and a rear end, a first backrest extendingupwardly from the torso forward end, a second backrest extendingupwardly from the torso rear end, a first handle extending from thefirst backrest and a second handle extending from the second backrest.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a toy is disclosedwhich comprises a curved base, and a seat extending upwardly from thecurved base. The seat includes a first station and a second station, thefirst station having a backrest forming a reclined chair for a child,and the second station having a handle forming a rocking chair for thechild.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, a toy isdisclosed which comprises a reclined chair backrest, a rocking chairbackrest, and a seat used for both the reclined chair backrest and therocking chair backrest. The seat is adapted to accommodate a child inforward and rearward facing directions

These and other aspects and features of the disclosure will become moleapparent upon reading the following detailed description when taken intoconjunction with accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy constructed in accordance with theteachings of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the toy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the toy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the toy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the toy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the toy with a child shown in phantom linesfacing forwardly and using the toy as a rocking chair; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of the toy, with a child shown in phantom linesfacing rearwardly and using the toy as a reclined chair.

While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof havebeen shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. Itshould be under stood, however, that there is no intention to limit thedisclosure to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theintention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, andequivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosuredefined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Referring now to the drawings, and with specific reference to FIG. 1, atoy constructed in accordance with the teachings of the disclosure isgenerally reflected by reference numeral 20. While the toy is depictedas representative of a giraffe, it is to be understood that the toycould be manufactured as any number of different animals or subjectmatter including, but not limited to, horses. In any of suchembodiments, it is important to understand, however, that the disclosurewould include a dual purpose toy providing not only a rocking horse forthe enjoyment of the child, but a reclined chair as well.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, collectively, the toy 20 is shown to includea curved base 22 from which an animal body 24 upwardly extends. Asindicated above, the animal body 24 is provided in the form of a giraffein the depicted embodiment but could be provided in any other form ofanimal including, but not limited to, horses as well. The animal body 24includes a torso 26 having a forward end 28 and rear end 30. First andsecond front legs 32 extend from the forward end 28, while first andsecond rear legs 34 extend from the rear end 30. In addition, a neck 36upwardly extends from the forward end 28 and terminates in a head 38,while a tail 40 extends from the rear end 30. As will be noted best fromthe top view of FIG. 3, the curved base 22 is wider than the torso 26and in so doing provides first and second foot tests 42 and 44.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the toy is depicted with a child 46 shown inphantom lines and using the toy in a forwardly facing position and thusas a locking horse 48. This is in opposition to the position shown inFIG. 7, wherein the child 46 is depicted in a rearwardly facingdirection and thus using the toy 20 as a reclined chair 50. Withspecific reference to FIG. 6, the locking horse configuration 48 isemployed to allow child 46 to face forward by straddling the torso 26,with the legs 52 of the child 46 straddling the torso 26 and the feet 54of the child 46 resting on the first and second foot rests 42 and 44.First and second handles 56 and 58 extend laterally away from the head38 of the toy to provide structure for the child 46 to grab with his orher hands 60. By employing a rocking motion moving his or her bodyforward and aft, the curved base 22 of the toy allows the child toemploy the toy in a rocking horse manner in this position.

However, a time may come when the child may not wish to rock but ratheruse the toy 20 as a chair, perhaps for reading books, watchingtelevision, or relaxing. Accordingly, the toy 20 is able to be used inthe reclined chair position 50 as shown in FIG. 7 as well. In so doing,the child simply reverses position so as to face the rear end 30 of thetoy 20. Again, the legs 52 of the child 46 straddle the torso 26 withthe hands 60 of the child grasping the tail 40 it desired. The tail 40is provided with a stem 62 from which a curved closed loop handle 64extends. In other embodiments, the handle 64 need not be provided as aclosed loop, but could be provided as a knob, appendage, or the like. Inthe reclined position, the handle 64 likely would not be used by thechild, however, the handle 64 can be used by a parent or guardian as aconvenient mechanism by which the toy 20 can be carried. Moreover, inother embodiments the toy 20 could be provided with a carrying handlethat is not provided in the form of a tail. For example, the element 40could be provided as shown, with a tail provided elsewhere. Similarly,no tail need be provided at all, simply a combination handle and rearbackrest could be provided.

In addition, in the reclined chair position 50, the toy 20 provides abackrest 66 for added comfort of the child 46. The backrest 66 in thedepicted embodiment is provided by a real surface 68 of the neck 36 andhead 38, but in other embodiments could be provided entirely by the rearsurface of the neck 36, or entirely by the rear surface of the head 38.In keeping with the overall configuration of the toy 20 being that of agiraffe, the tear surface 68 can be configured or colored to appear as amane would be found on a real giraffe or horse. In the depictedembodiment, the rear surface 68 includes ribs 69 or other texturedsurfaces. In certain other embodiments, the surface 68 and/or mane 70can be provided in the form of cushioned or padded materials such asfoam or fabric or the like. In the giraffe embodiment, the mane 70 mayterminate in antlers 71 which in the depicted embodiment are padded orotherwise cushioned. Such a feature may not only present addedauthenticity, but a comfortable head rest as well. In the reclined chairposition 50, the first and second footrests 42 and 44 could be used foxthe feet 54 of the child as well. Referring to FIG. 4 in specificity, itcan be seen that the rear end 30 can also be provided with a cavity 72for storage of other toys, books or the like. The cavity could beinclined to retain articles therein more easily, or could include anon-slip bottom surface 73, or a cabinet door or the like to perform thesame function.

With respect to the construction and materials of the toy 20, referenceis now made to FIG. 5 showing the toy in exploded fashion. While the toyneed not be constructed in such a fashion, in one embodiment, the toy 20can be manufactured from a plurality of mating clam shell half portions.More specifically, the toy 20 could include first and second torsohalves 74 and 76 coupled together by way of fasteners 78. The front legs32 are formed by leg pieces 80 and 82, while the tear leg 34 ate formedby leg pieces 84. Similar to the torso halves 74 and 76, the leg piecesare connected by way of fasteners 86. The rear end 30 of the torso 26 isalso provided with a slot 88 for receipt of the cavity 72. Morespecifically, a box 90 having the cavity 72 formed therein slides intothe slot 88 and is connected thereto by way of fasteners 92. Withrespect to the head 38, it will be noted from FIG. 5, that first andsecond handles 56 and 58 are also provided in the form of mating halves94 and 96 held together by fasteners 97, and that similarly, the tail 40is formed by mating halves 98 and 100. Again, fasteners 102 are used tosecure same. Finally, the mane 70 is provided in the form of a backrest66 integrally molded with the first and second torso halves 74 and 76,as well as antlers 71. The seat of the toy is formed by a seat piece 106secured to the torso halves 74 and 76 with clips 108. The seat piece 106may be padded for added comfort. Again, the toy 20 need not beconstructed in such a fashion. Any number of different constructions,including but not limited to unitary construction, wherein the toy isone piece of molded plastic or other material, are possible.

In operation, it can therefore be seen that the disclosed toy 20provides a dual purpose chair for a child. In a forward position, thechild can grasp handles provided proximate the head of the toy and byemploying a rocking motion while seated on the toy, the curved baseallows the toy to rock back and forth. However, in addition to such alocking motion, the toy can also be used as a reclined chair simply byreversing the direction of seating. In so doing, the toy is providedwith a reclined backrest for the comfort of the child. If desired, thetoy could also be enjoyed by two children simultaneously, with onefacing forward and one facing rearward, and grasping a different handle,or set of handles.

1. A toy, comprising: a curved base; a simulated animal body extendingupwardly horn the curved base, the simulated animal body having asubstantially continuous horizontally extending torso with a forward endand a rearward end, the torso having an upper surface defining a seatarea between the forward end and the rearward end for supporting a childon the animal body a first backrest extending upwardly from the uppersurface adjacent the torso forward end; a second backrest extendingupwardly form the upper surface adjacent the torso rear end; a firsthandle extending-from adjacent the first backrest for use by a childpositioned in a forwardly facing direction on the seat area; and asecond handle adjacent the second backrest for use by a child in arearwardly facing direction on the seat area; the seat area extendingsubstantially continuously between the first backrest and the secondbackrest to enable a child seated on the seat area in a forwardly facingdirection adjacent the second backrest to rest his or her back againstthe second backrest and to alternatively enable a child seated on theseat area in a rearwardly facing direction adjacent the first backrestto rest his or her back against the first backrest the first and secondbackrest including substantially transversely oriented support surfacesfor enabling the first and second backrests to support the back of achild seated on the seat area in rearwardly and forwardly facingdirections.
 2. The toy of claim 1, wherein the first backrest is formedhorn at least one of a simulated animal neck and a simulated animal head3. The toy of claim 1, further including first and second foot rests onfirst and second sides of the animal body
 4. The toy of claim 1, whereinthe first backrest is textured
 5. The toy of claim 1, wherein the secondbackrest is formed by a simulated animal tail
 6. A toy, comprising: acurved base; a simulated animal body extending upwardly horn the curvedbase, the simulated animal body including a substantially continuoushorizontally extending torso having a forward end and rearward end, thetorso having an upper surface defining a seat area between the forwardend and the rearward end for supporting a child on the animal body, theanimal body including head and neck portions adjacent the forward end ofthe torso; a first backrest extending upwardly horn the upper surfaceuse adjacent the forward and of the torso, the first backrest beingintegrally formed with the head and neck portions; a first handleadjacent the first backrest for use by a child positioned in a forwardlyfacing direction on the seat area; a second backrest extending upwardlyfrom the upper surface adjacent the rearward end of the torso: a secondhandle adjacent the second backrest for use by a child positioned in arearwardly facing direction on the seat area; the seat area extendingsubstantially continuously between the first backrest and the secondbackrest to enable a child seated on the seat area in a forwardly facingdirection adjacent the second backrest to rest his or her back againstthe second backrest and to alternatively enable a child seated on theseat area in a rearwardly facing direction adjacent the first backrestto rest his or her back against the first backrest, the first and secondbackrests including substantially transversely oriented support surfacesfor enabling the first and second backrests to support the back of achild seated on the seat area in rearwardly and forwardly facingdirections
 7. The toy of claim 6, wherein the seat is provided in theform of a giraffe.
 8. The toy of claim 7, wherein the giraffe includes.9. The toy of claim 7, wherein the first handle extends from the headfor of the toy is used as a rocking chair.
 10. The toy of claim 8,further including a tail extending upwardly from the torso, the tailforming the second backrest
 11. The toy of claim 7, further includingfirst and second foot rests flanking the giraffe.
 12. A toy, comprising:curved base; an animal torso extending upward horn the curved base andhaving a substantially continuous horizontally extending torso having aforward end and a rearward end, the torso having an upper surfacedefining a seat area between the forward end and the rearward end forsupporting a child on the animal body; a reclined chair backrest havinga width substantially matching the width of the child; a rocking chairbackrest having a width substantially matching the width of the child;and the seat area usable in combination with both the reclined chairbackrest and the rocking chair backrest, the seat adapted to accommodatea child in forward and rearward facing directions
 13. The toy of claim12, wherein the seat area extends substantially continuously between thefirst and second backrests to enable a child seated on the seat area ina forwardly facing direction adjacent the rocking backrest to rest hisor her back against the rocking backrest and to alternatively enable achild seated on the seat area in a rearwardly facing direction adjacentthe reclining backrest to rest his or her back against the recliningbackrest
 14. The toy of claim 12, wherein the reclined chair backrestfaces in a direction opposite to the rocking chair backrest
 15. The toyof claim 12, wherein the reclined chair backrest, rocking chairbackrest, and seat are provided in the form of a giraffe.
 16. The toy ofclaim 15, wherein the giraffe includes a head and tail, the head formingthe reclined chair backrest, and the tail forming the rocking chairbackrest.
 17. The toy of claim 16, wherein a tear surface of the headforms the reclined chair backrest.
 18. The toy of claim 12, wherein thereclined chair backrest includes padded antlers.
 19. The toy of claim16, wherein the tail includes a carrying handle for med therein.
 20. Thetoy of claim 15, further including first and second foot rests flankingthe giraffe